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v. chafed, chaf·ing, chafes
1. To wear away or irritate by rubbing or friction: The collar chafed my neck.
2. To annoy; vex: "It chafed him no end to be under obligation to her" (Carson McCullers).
3. To warm by rubbing, as with the hands.
1. To cause irritation by rubbing or friction: The high collar chafed against my neck.
2. To become worn or sore from rubbing or friction: His skin chafed where the cast had been.
3. To feel irritated or impatient: They chafed at the delay. The reporters chafed under the new restrictions.
1. Warmth, wear, or soreness produced by friction.
2. Annoyance; vexation.
[Middle English chafen, from Old French chaufer, to warm, from Vulgar Latin *calefāre, alteration of Latin calefacere : calēre, to be warm; see kelə- in Indo-European roots + facere, to make; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.